Want to be courtside to watch LeBron James and other NBA stars balling it out tonight, but don’t want to forego a car payment for courtside seats?

The league’s new weekly virtual reality broadcasts with production partner NextVR offer a compelling, and less expensive, option as viewers come closer to “experiencing” the action, rather than simply watching it.

VR gives you that Jay-Z feeling, where you could almost high five Knicks and Nets or trip a referee. And while you aren’t seated next to a celebrity and you won’t get a rebound, you can’t get much closer to the action without suiting up. Altimeter Group principal analyst Brian Solis, who literally wrote the book on user experiences (called “X”), says that while the current VR setup may be somewhat isolating, “it’s as good as you can get without being at the game.” […]

FOX Business went behind the scenes of an NBA VR broadcast at the Staples Center in Los Angeles where the host Clippers defeated Denver 119-102 in an entertaining tilt – below is a review. Spoiler alert: it’s early days but the NextVR-produced broadcast offers a fun and immersive experience, but not without some caveats. […]